ARFJR
Well-known member
My first attempt at completing the Iron Butt Saddle Sore qualifier (1K miles in 24 hours) ended 48 miles short due to a problem I was assured was fixed over a year ago.
Not long after the AE model arrived on the scene, Yamaha sent all of it’s proud new owners a recall notice related to the cool trick clutch. Just like everyone else that got the letter, I ran down to my trusty shop for the upgrade. After, no kidding, 5 days I was told I could sleep better at night knowing my shift actuator’s mounting plate would have a long and dependable service life.
Fast-forward to last Sunday night about 11:00, finishing a short break just inside Jackson, TN. Start bike, drop it into 1st gear, when it jumps right back into neutral. I try again and everything is good. Must be more tired than I thought. Three gears later and a red-light getting closer, no shift action at all. The bike stalls at the light. The dash has the little amber light on and something new, “SH 51”. Key off, back on, amber light and error code are gone. Bike is trying to be faithful and barely makes it back to 1st gear. This gets me back to the 24 hour gas station I’d left a few minutes before for a closer look.
After removing the left side cover I notice the shift actuator appeared a bit displaced, and sure enough it’s still attached to it’s mount, but the mount is no longer attached to anything else.
Finishing my little Saddle Sore adventure had been doomed.
The next morning I met the a nice young man who only charged me $100 to tow me and the FJR two miles to the local Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki dealer (who wouldn’t tow me) where I was very politely informed (a Southern thing) that Yamaha insisted the bike be properly repaired by the same dealer that was supposed to have properly performed the above service bulletins in the first place. The polite service manager also informed me that Yamaha wanted to replace the entire sub-frame associated with the broken shift actuator mounting plate, which of coarse was waiting for me in Japan.
24 hours later my AE was delivered to the dealer who Yamaha said would have to do my repair. Delivered via pick-up truck. I was so ashamed even though I thought the big silver bike looked great in the bed of the black truck!
I had called the service manager before I arrived and was greeted by both he and the general manager who both began to schmooze me in a professional kinda way. They must have apologized 10 times in the hour I was there. They told me they had already spoken to the regional Yamaha service rep who had them pre-order the sub-frame assembly and to prioritize the repair. The sub-frame was in Japan. I was told the bike would be ready by Saturday. This was Tuesday at 12:00. I reminded them that the repair was complicated by the hard-wired placement of my Audiovox CCS vacuum servo that was located in the tail of the bike. They said no problem. All the work would be done on time and to my satisfaction. I said “OK”.
By Saturday I was chomping-at-the-bit to get my ride back and still skeptical of the shop guys repair time-frame. When I called, the General Manager said they had just finished the test ride and everything was good to go. He said they had even done the ECM upgrade.
After another 10 apologizes, assurances that they would always do me right, and I should expect a check from Yamaha very soon for reimbursement of my breakdown costs, I was on the road again.
After a few miles of riding, my faith had about been restored when I noticed my ABS light was on. Nothing else seemed amiss. Arriving home a quick inspection showed the power plug for the ABS computer was not connected. A more thorough inspection reassured me that everything else appeared in it’s place. Finally I knew I could really sleep better at night.
What did I learn from all this? To be sure to double check the work others have to do to my ride , if possible. Don’t ever be afraid to have service folk show you exactly what they did. After all it is my ass and my responsibility to do so .
I also know have another excuse to do another Iron Butt Qualifier ride.
OBTW the ride was pretty cool too!
Not long after the AE model arrived on the scene, Yamaha sent all of it’s proud new owners a recall notice related to the cool trick clutch. Just like everyone else that got the letter, I ran down to my trusty shop for the upgrade. After, no kidding, 5 days I was told I could sleep better at night knowing my shift actuator’s mounting plate would have a long and dependable service life.
Fast-forward to last Sunday night about 11:00, finishing a short break just inside Jackson, TN. Start bike, drop it into 1st gear, when it jumps right back into neutral. I try again and everything is good. Must be more tired than I thought. Three gears later and a red-light getting closer, no shift action at all. The bike stalls at the light. The dash has the little amber light on and something new, “SH 51”. Key off, back on, amber light and error code are gone. Bike is trying to be faithful and barely makes it back to 1st gear. This gets me back to the 24 hour gas station I’d left a few minutes before for a closer look.
After removing the left side cover I notice the shift actuator appeared a bit displaced, and sure enough it’s still attached to it’s mount, but the mount is no longer attached to anything else.
Finishing my little Saddle Sore adventure had been doomed.
The next morning I met the a nice young man who only charged me $100 to tow me and the FJR two miles to the local Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki dealer (who wouldn’t tow me) where I was very politely informed (a Southern thing) that Yamaha insisted the bike be properly repaired by the same dealer that was supposed to have properly performed the above service bulletins in the first place. The polite service manager also informed me that Yamaha wanted to replace the entire sub-frame associated with the broken shift actuator mounting plate, which of coarse was waiting for me in Japan.
24 hours later my AE was delivered to the dealer who Yamaha said would have to do my repair. Delivered via pick-up truck. I was so ashamed even though I thought the big silver bike looked great in the bed of the black truck!
I had called the service manager before I arrived and was greeted by both he and the general manager who both began to schmooze me in a professional kinda way. They must have apologized 10 times in the hour I was there. They told me they had already spoken to the regional Yamaha service rep who had them pre-order the sub-frame assembly and to prioritize the repair. The sub-frame was in Japan. I was told the bike would be ready by Saturday. This was Tuesday at 12:00. I reminded them that the repair was complicated by the hard-wired placement of my Audiovox CCS vacuum servo that was located in the tail of the bike. They said no problem. All the work would be done on time and to my satisfaction. I said “OK”.
By Saturday I was chomping-at-the-bit to get my ride back and still skeptical of the shop guys repair time-frame. When I called, the General Manager said they had just finished the test ride and everything was good to go. He said they had even done the ECM upgrade.
After another 10 apologizes, assurances that they would always do me right, and I should expect a check from Yamaha very soon for reimbursement of my breakdown costs, I was on the road again.
After a few miles of riding, my faith had about been restored when I noticed my ABS light was on. Nothing else seemed amiss. Arriving home a quick inspection showed the power plug for the ABS computer was not connected. A more thorough inspection reassured me that everything else appeared in it’s place. Finally I knew I could really sleep better at night.
What did I learn from all this? To be sure to double check the work others have to do to my ride , if possible. Don’t ever be afraid to have service folk show you exactly what they did. After all it is my ass and my responsibility to do so .
I also know have another excuse to do another Iron Butt Qualifier ride.
OBTW the ride was pretty cool too!
